Turkey Apple Onion Spinach Meatballs in fresh Tomato sauce over Pasta

It is fall, so we have a lot of apples, onions and tomatoes.  In fact, it becomes difficult to find enough uses for them.  So, this is one way.

Festival usually sells one pound packages of ground breast (both chicken and turkey) meat that, while not labeled with nutrition info, certainly looks and cooks like no skin, defatted breast meat.  So, it is.  Ipse Dixit.  Don’t use frozen chubs.  They are almost always fatty, and have lots of bone and nasty stuff in them.  Turkey Store ground turkey works ok also.

Ingredients for meatballs (will make 15 meatballs (or so)

1 lb ground turkey or chicken.

½ onion rough chopped

1 tart apple (I like Wolf’s), peeled, cored, rough chopped

3 cloves garlic, peeled and smashed

1 cup fresh spinach, loosely packed

½ tsp salt

½ tsp pepper

1 tsp italian seasoning

Toss all ingredients (EXCEPT CHICKEN) into food processor.  Pulse until relatively finely chopped.  

Spread ground turkey out on plate

Spread rest of ingredients over

Mix thoroughly with hands

Form into whatever size meatballs you like.  I go for just a shade under golf ball size, they cook well

Brown in non stick pan with cooking spray.  I cook them at medium on my dial (5-6 out of 10).  These are fragile meatballs - don’t be tossing them around the pan and stirring a lot.  You will break them up.  Brown on one side, turn gently, brown on other, then add sauce (see below) to finish cooking process

While browning, make the sauce

Ingredients for Sauce

5 medium garden tomatoes, diced.  You could peel and seed them, but unless I am cooking for company, I don’t bother.  If you do, you will have to add ½ cup chicken stock to replace the liquid

½ onion, diced

½ green pepper, diced (or more if you like)

A zucchini from the garden would be nice also, as would an eggplant if you had it

8 oz of mushroom would be fine also

1 tsp italian seasoning

½ tsp salt

½ tsp pepper

After meatballs have begun browning, toss onion and pepper in with them.  Once meatballs have browned on at least two sides, toss in rest of ingredients, cook for 10 minutes, covered.  Sauce will be chunky, not smooth. Salt and pepper to taste.  You may need to sweeten the tomato sauce with a bit of splenda if the tomatoes are too tart.  If you felt like it, you could toss another cup of fresh spinach in the sauce

After you add the sauce to the meatballs, cook the pasta.  I cook one (1) dry ounce per person, of high fiber pasta

If I did not add a zucchini or eggplant or mushrooms to the sauce, I would cook some frozen veg and serve the sauce over them, along with the pasta. Basicly, figure out how much veg you need to make your meal big enough.  Don’t use more  pasta to up size the meal.

So, what is the damage….

1lb turkey breast  - 500

½ med onion - 20

1 med apple - 80

1 cup fresh spinach 7

607 calories, give or take

5 fresh tomatoes 125

½ med onion - 20

½ green pepper - 15

8 oz mushroom -40

8 oz zucchini 45

245 calories, plus or minus

3 oz high fiber pasta 225

If you needed to cut calories I would use cooked potatoes in place of the pasta.  I would peel, dice, then nuke for 10 minutes, then add them to the sauce for the 10 minute cook time.  You can figure out the calorie replacement.  Personally, I find one ounce of pasta per person sufficient to satisfy.

So, that is a total of 1,007 calories.

If you split this meal for 3, that is 359 calories.  If you split it in fours, 225 calories.

Like I said, I don’t know the fat levels of the Festival Fresh ground turkey, but it sure looks close to 99% fat free, and there is no fat in the pan while cooking.  If you don’t believe me, buy some turkey store 99% fat free.

If you needed to cut calories more, delete the pasta, cook more veg.  Personally, I find some pasta makes the meal more satisfying, less diet restrictive.  Basically, I am just happier after I have a little.

Calories calculated on www.caloriecount.about.com

Credit where credit is due - created out of thin air by me, David Carlson

Thanks Slate for the WORST TEACHING VIDEO EVER

Slate deigns to do a video on which knife to use to slice tomatoes.  First, they get that simple point wrong by suggesting the second best knife, a serated knife.  The best knife is a slicer, such as the Victorinox

However, that is forgiveable, as a serrated knife is indeed useful.

What is unforegivable is how she holds the tomato, by mashing her hands over it.  That technique invites you to slash yourself.

The correct way to cut with a knife, as virtually anyone who actually has knife skills can tell you, is to hold the item with your finger tips, knuckles slightly bent outward, so the side of the blade is sliding on the knuckles, which means no matter what knife you use, you can nver cut yourself.

However, if you would like a demonstration of the WORST WAY TO SLICE A TOMATO, follow the below link.

WORST TEACHING VIDEO EVER

Swanson Thai Ginger Stock - Great to Keep on Hand

Swanson has a new product out - Thai Ginger Stock.  A vegitable stock, plus a number of Thai influenced seasonings such as ginger, lemon grass, curry and others.  The question of course is, does it actually taste good?

You know, pretty good.

I picked some up at Walmart, and needing a quick dinner, I made a modified, HMR/Diet freindly version

3 juliened carrots, 1/2 a sliced onion, 3 pealed and diced potato, 1 juliened sweet potato, 1 bag frozen peas and 1/2 a red pepper, sliced.  Plus 4 chicken thighs, sliced.  I used 1/2 chicken stock and 1/2 Thai Ginger broth, as the Thai Ginger Broth is spicy.  Plus 2/3 cup of cocunut milk, some minced cilantro, a lime squirted over the top, all added at the end of the cooking and some chopped jalepeno on the side for me.  No rice, no noodles kept this as a very low calorie dish.

Panara Pasta - Yes, It Does Suck

I like Panera a lot for what it is - a chain that is (seemingly) everywhere, with consistent good product, fast service and free wifi. Is it the best bread?  No.  Is it the best sandwiches? No.  But they are consistently good.  And compared to the rest of corporate food wasteland, really pretty excellent.

However....

They decided that what they really needed to do was add pasta dishes to their sandwiches, soups and salads.  "Signature Pasta Dishes".  They chose poorly.

Gummy pasta, salty, pasty sauce, in small portions.  Think the cheapest, nastiest frozen pasta dish you could buy at the grocer, then nuke at home.  Then think worse.

Really people, this is a bad idea, terribly implemented.

Pasta Salad

This may be vegetarian, but it is not exactly low fat or low calorie.  Not high calorie, but not diet food.

I put this together as a side/vegetarian option for a family dinner.  I know - vegetarians hate salads as their dinner option - nothing says we really don't care about you like making great food for the meat eaters and foisting off some dreck to the non meat eaters.

Well, sometimes life makes you salad.  This one is pretty good, and satisfied our vegie.

Salad Fixings
1 Red pepper - sliced
1 Yellow pepper - sliced
1 can black olives, drained and sliced
1 can artichoke hearts, drained and rinsed
1 can garbanzo beans, drained and rinsed
2 cups fresh green beans, cooked and cut in half
12 oz cherry tomatoes, halved

Pasta
16 oz cooked pasta - my preference is whole grain/high fiber - be sure to not overcook - whole grain pasta overcooked is very unpleasant

Dressing
1/3 cup olive oil
1/3 cup balsamic vinegar
1 tsp mixed seasoning - basil/thyme/marjoram
3 garlic cloves minced
1 tsp dijon mustard
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 ground pepper
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice (1 large or 2 small lemons, juiced)
2 tbs honey

Recipe
Mix all dressing ingredients, whisk.  Let sit at least 1/2 hour
Pour over all salad fixings except pasta
Let marinate for at least an hour, mixing vegies and dressing several times
Mix in Pasta, toss repeatedly
Serve

The New, The Improved, The Complete Review of All Mexican Restaurants in Eau Claire, Wisconsin

Link to Yelp -

Three good places to go in Eau Claire, plus ratings of the rest.

#1 Taqueria Sandova- 1  La Luna Misma -  New Owners, New Name, Same great food.  Located in the back of Eau Claire's largest Mexican Grocery, this is pretty much just what its name is - Tacos, plus Tortas, Burritos and Soups, The environment is low end tables and chairs, but if you're lucky you will be able to watch soccer in Spanish. Not a date place, unless your date loves the best Mexican food in the Chippewa Valley. Always amusing to see employees from other "Mexican" restaurants eating their before their shifts.

#2 Taco's Juanita - close behind is a slightly more upscale place, with a little more atmosphere and a few more fancy meals as well as some of the more traditional Mexican as well as some Amer-Mex fare 

#3 Casa Mexicana - Chippewa Falls contribution to the top three, Casa houses some of the wildest wall fresco's, chairs and tables you will see. The food tends more towards Amer-Mex, but still good enough. Full Bar, so that is something not available at the top 2. The quality starts falling fast after the top 3, although there are plenty of choices. The order is basically which would I go to first (or last, as the case may be)

For all the rest, click on the above Yelp link

Butternut Squash and Shrimp Pasta

You know what happens when your internet goes down?  You lose all your recipes.

Since I have basically packed up all my books and now use only the internet for recipes, it’s a little odd to cook when you just can’t look something up immediately.  So last night when I was trying to cook dinner and the internet went out I was stuck going, how is this going to work?

It worked pretty well.  Low calorie, low fat.  Good Tasting.  Serves four.

Ingredients

1 lb shrimp, thawed and peeled

1 butternut squash, peeled, small dice

1 can diced tomatoes (not drained)

1 onion, fine dice

4 cloves of garlic, diced, two piles

½ lemon

1 can white beans, drained and rinsed

4 oz whole wheat pasta, variety your choice

1 can vegetable or chicken stock

1 tbs Italian Seasoning

Salt and Pepper to Taste

Fresh grated Parmesan, 1 oz

2 tsp olive oil

Recipe

Toss thawed, peeled shrimp in bowl with juice of ½ lemon, 1 tsp olive oil and 2 cloves of garlic crushed.  Let marinate.

Boil squash till almost tender, drain

At same time boil pasta till almost cooked, drain

Sauté onion in 1 tsp olive oil

When onion is translucent, add garlic and Italian seasoning, sauté for 3 minutes

Add squash, tomatoes, beans, pasta, stock to onions, bring to low boil

Stir in shrimp, cover, cook for 5 minutes

Season with salt and pepper to taste

Serve with fresh parm grated on top

No need for the shrimp if you don't want to.  If you wanted to throw some fresh spinach in when you added the shrimp, that would be good to.  Frozen peas would be a fine addition also.  To make it a more complete meal I served it with roasted cauliflower.